ELT Research

The British Council Directory of UK ELT Research was conceived in pursuit of three main aims:

To disseminate and share information generally in the area of UK-based ELT research;

To promote interchange amongst researchers in the UK and other countries;

To publicise and make research available to the broader constituency of ELT professionals worldwide.

Definition of parameters and actual data collection for the first phase of the project (2005-08 research) were carried out during the first half of 2009 by Richard Smith with Shelagh Rixon, Seongsook Choi and Duncan Hunter, University of Warwick, in liaison with John Knagg of the British Council. The second phase of data collection and compilation (for 2009-10 research) was carried out in the first half of 2011, by a team led by Richard Smith and consisting of Seongsook Choi, Stuart Reid (project manager), Gosia Sky and Duncan Hunter. The third phase (for 2011-12 research) was carried out in 2012 by Richard Smith, Seonsook Choi, Imogen Liggins and Gosia Sky.

Definition of 'UK ELT Research'The following definitions of terms were developed by the project team and shared with participating institutions, who then inputted details of their own research:

ResearchFor the purposes of this exercise, we took the primary meaning of ‘research’ to be original investigation undertaken in order to gain knowledge and understanding. However, the term also includes scholarship, for example in forms such as dictionaries, research databases and reviews of the ‘state of the art’ in areas relevant to ELT.

ELT Research‘ELT research’ was defined as referring to any research whose data and/or findings relate directly to the teaching, learning or assessment of English as a Foreign, Second or Additional Language in the UK or any other context.

UK Research‘UK Research’ refers to research undertaken by a member of staff or associate of a bona fide educational institution with a base in the UK. The actual research may have taken place anywhere in the world, not necessarily in the UK.

The following departments, organisations or institutions all contributed to the Directory of UK ELT Research: